


Protection

by Happy_Giraffe



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Cute, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Love, Love Triangles, My First AO3 Post, My First Work in This Fandom, Napping, does this count as a threesome?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-07
Updated: 2017-01-07
Packaged: 2018-09-15 10:36:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9231113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Happy_Giraffe/pseuds/Happy_Giraffe
Summary: Fred and George Weasley intervene when they thing something is up





	

Fred and George Weasley were two people who could tell you how painful it felt to watch someone deteriorate; how it felt to watch someone go after healthy to frighteningly not right before your eyes. They watched it and knew they were letting it happen, but the hardest thing in the world is intervening. How do you help? How do you help someone who doesn’t ask for it, when you don’t have proof it’s happening, when they willingly go back to the person whose doing it to them? How do you help them?  
  
The Weasley twins had known you since their first year at Hogwarts, as you were also there to get sorted for your first year. You had appeared young and full of cheer; your skin glowed, your (h/l) (h/c) hair was neatly groomed, your robes were new and in order, and you had a fierce twinkle in your eye. Everything about you radiated confidence and pulled their attention towards you, and yet they didn’t know your name; they only learned it once you were sorted into Gryffindor and sat beside them. From that moment on you and the boys became inseparable.  
  
Over the years, Fred and George had noticed small changes in you that by themselves were nothing, but collective over the years were concerning. First to go had been your robes, they weren’t as nice as they used to be, as if someone had shredded them and you had sewn them back together. Then your hair lost its sleekness and shine, but you didn’t seem to mind. Your third year your skin was no longer glowing the way it used to, but you never complained. By your fourth year the twins confronted you about what had happened, but you dismissed them and told them it was part of growing up. For some reason they didn’t seem to believe you. Fifth year you entered the school looking gaunt, as if you hadn’t eaten nearly enough over summer break, but they let it go, because they didn’t feel you were aware the changes were taken place. Sixth year was when they decided that maybe it was truly time to step in. The girl who once radiated confidence was gone; the twinkle in her eye was gone, her health was most definitely gone. It wasn’t until after Christmas that year that they truly drew the line. You had come back from break covered in cuts and bruises.  
  
“(Name), would you come talk to us for a moment?” George called from the couch in the common room, as you tried to scurry past the twins.  
  
A quiet, inhaled hiss escaped your lips as you turned to face the brothers, “How can I be of assistance to you fine gentlemen,” you asked from your position next to the staircase.  
  
“Come sit,” Fred pat the seat beside him, directly in between himself and his brother.  
  
Reluctantly, but submissively, you walked back toward the fireplace and sat with Fred on your left and George on your right. “Okay. I’m here.” Both the twins threw an arm around your shoulders to keep you in place, and you knew you were in for a very serious talk. “I’m fine, I swear.”  
  
“Now, you see, as much as we’re inclined to believe you,” George started.  
  
Fred continued, “You’ve been telling us the same thing for years as we watched you get worse and worse.”  
  
“As much as we want to believe you, we won’t anymore.”  
  
“And we will hold you here all night until we have some answers.”  
  
You were trapped. They had caught you and left you no wiggle room. You really had no reason to lie or keep secrets from the twins, but at the same time you were handling this by yourself. They were both waiting intently on an answer that you weren’t sure you wanted to give.  
  
“If I tell you…you can’t tell anyone,” you whispered, not making eye contact with either of the boys.  
  
“Of course.” They spoke in unison.  
  
You leaned a little closer to Fred, using him as a support, and took George’s hand into yours, “My mother isn’t the nicest woman in the world, and when my father passed away after our first year things got really rough. It’s probably technically child abuse, but no one else knows, and I love her too much to leave her. She doesn’t want me coming back to Hogwarts. Every year I practically run away, but she can’t get to me since she’s not a witch.”  
  
“(Name), why haven’t you told anyone?” George asked.  
  
You shook your head, “I don’t want her to get in trouble.”  
  
“You’re too good, (Name),” Fred whispered, “Go get some sleep. George and I need to talk.”  
  
Both Fred and George relinquished their grips on you so you could leave. Slowly, you pulled yourself off the couch and bid them both good night before heading up to your dorm. The twins stayed downstairs for a while more, weighing their options. In the end, they knew it was time to get her away from her mother. Now they just needed to figure out how and when to do it. But that was for another day, and they headed to bed.  
  
Before they knew it, the end of the school year had come and everyone was getting ready to board the Hogwarts express to go home. You stood between the twins, who towered over you, waiting to board. George had his arm wrapped around you protectively, while Fred leaned against your shoulder. The three of you had fallen into a comforting silence, and you had long since adapted to their protectiveness once they knew the truth. The brothers were your family. They pulled you onto the train and into a compartment, shutting the door before anyone could join them.  
  
“So we have a proposition for you,” Fred started.  
  
George continued the thought, “We want you to spend the summer at the Order with us.”  
  
“We don’t want you going home to that woman.”  
  
“You’d be safer with us.”  
  
You sat opposite of them, playing with your sleeves and staring at the floor, “I-I don’t know. I can’t just…abandon my mother.”  
  
George shook his head, “You can’t go back to her.”  
  
“We won’t allow it. Mum already knows you’re coming to stay with us and she knows what happened.”  
  
Your head shot up, “You promised not to tell anyone.” There was a note of panic in your voice, “I don’t want my mother getting in trouble. She’s the only blood family I have left.”  
  
“…Well…you know mum…” Fred shrugged apologetically, “We can’t keep anything from her.”  
  
“Just come back to the Order with us, (Name). You won’t regret it,” George said, leaning across the empty space to rub her shoulder.  
  
“I guess.”  
  
“Good. Now get some rest, it’s been a long school year and you’ve earned it.” He nodded happily.  
  
You chuckled, “Yeah right, fall asleep with you numbskulls around? As if.” You sat back pinto the seat before pulling a deck of cards from your pocket, “Wanna play?”  
  
You and the boys passed the train ride playing games like War and Bullshit, nothing too serious, but enough that they could bet on rounds using whatever snacks they had hidden away before leaving the castle. Towards the end of the trip, as the train was pulling into the station, you began to feel woozy, but you shook it off in order to follow Fred and George to baggage claim. A perk of being friends with the tall brothers was that they easily pushed through a crowd to grab their trunks, your trunk, Ginny’s trunk, and Ron’s trunk without delay. After saying goodbye to a handful of friends you and the twins began making your way to where Mr. and Mrs. Weasley would be waiting for them; Fred had his trunk and Ron’s, George had his own and Ginny’s, and you walked in between them with your own. As they came into view, you could also see Ron and Ginny waiting with them, since Fred and George had promised to get the trunks for them. Once everything was sorted and in the hands of who it belonged to the family headed to the car, which they all would, undoubtedly, not fit quite right in.  
  
“Oh (Name), dear, you’ll just love spending the summer with us, we’ll make sure you’re well taken care of,” Mrs. Weasley assure you readily, “You’ll have a much better time with us than that…woman.” She was obviously venomous towards your mother for what had happened to you.  
  
“Thank you, Mrs. Weasley. I’m glad to be able to spend break with my best friends.” You nod, another wave of wooziness hitting you, except this time it was different. You dropped your trunk and took the nearest arms of the twins, “Fred, George…” And like that you had collapsed onto the pavement.  
  
“Mum!” George shouted, while Fred kneeled beside you.  
  
“Yes, dear-oh my!” Mrs. Weasley exclaimed as she turned to survey the situation. “Is she okay?”  
  
“Whatever she is she’s not awake!” Fred shouted, obviously in distress, “Mum what do we do?”  
  
“Is she breathing?”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
“Pick her up and let’s get her home. George take his trunk,” Mrs. Weasley ordered and turned to hurry everyone else along.  
  
†††††††††  
  
Fred and George had left everybody behind to get you into 12 Grimmauld Place since you still lacked any form of consciousness. As they settled you onto a couch they simultaneously called out for Remus and Sirius, in hoped one of the older wizards was home and able to help. Mrs. Weasley pushed her sons aside, as heavy footsteps came tramping down the stairs in a rush.  
  
“Don’t bother those old men I can handle this myself,” She scolded them.  
  
“What’s wrong?!” Remus asked, out of breath, sliding behind the couch.  
  
George looked up at him from where he was kneeled on the floor, “(Name) passed out and we don’t know why.”  
  
Sirius huffed as he settled in beside Remus, “And here I was thinking someone had died.”  
  
“She’s our best friend. Can you please be serious about this?!” Fred nearly growled.  
  
“Well technically speaking I am Sirius.” Remus smacked him upside the head.  
  
Mrs. Weasley was still taking her time examining you, “Well she has a fever…boys do you know when these cuts got here?”  
  
“What cuts?” They asked in unison.  
  
Mrs. Weasley moved aside to show she had rolled up your sleeves to find two words carved into either of your forearms. The area surrounding them was red and swollen, as well as surrounded by angry streaks going up towards your forearm and down towards your hands. Everyone gasped at the sights, and suddenly the pieces to the puzzle began to align; the cuts were infected.  
  
“Useless?” George whispered.  
  
“Mudblood?” Fred breathed, “Who would do this to her?”  
  
Mrs. Weasley turned to look at them, “Her mother, though I’m not sure how she would know the term mudblood,” She tutted, “Shame. That woman should be arrested. Now let us be, we’ll call you when we’re done with her. Remus, Sirius, would you assist me please?”  
  
“Come on boys.” Mr. Weasley ushered them out of the living room, “Ron and I took your trunks upstairs, go relax and stay out of your mother’s way.”  
  
The twins nodded silently and began to climb the stairs, periodically looking back. It’s not easy to leave behind someone you love and not know what may happen to them.  
  
†††††††††  
  
“Alright, move her to my bedroom; she can stay in there until she gets better. Hopefully that fever of hers goes down soon,” Sirius commented.  
  
“Are you sure, Sirius? She’ll be fine staying on the couch.” Remus turned to look at his friends.  
  
“I’m sure. I don’t want a child sleeping on a musty old couch while sick and in pain. Remus get her legs.” Sirius had tucked his arms under hers to carry her.  
“We could just apparate her upstairs,” Molly suggested, “That would save you too the heavy lifting. Better yet, let the boys do it. We did tell them we’d call when we were done.”  
  
“Fair enough.” Sirius stood up straight and went to the stairs to yell, “Fred, George! Come down here.”  
  
Heavy footsteps could be heard from one of the upper floors of Grimmauld place. Flashes of bright, ginger hair were seen as the twins came barreling down the steps. Before Sirius could get a word in, they were practically on top of him, blurting out every question they could think of. Between the two of them, and Sirius trying to stop them, the commotion was loud enough to wake the dead, or the half-dead at least.  
  
“Fred, George, would you two shut up? You’re so loud,” You grumbled, sitting up from you impromptu nap. They both rushed to your side.  
  
“Why didn’t you tell us?” They asked at the same time.  
  
“Huh? I’m confused. Tell you what?”  
  
George looked about ready to smack you upside the head, “Your arms you dummy!”  
  
You immediately shrunk in your spot, “Oh…that…”  
  
Remus stepped up beside the couch, just in your line of sight and pulling your attention, “As much as I’m sure you’d love to continue this discussion, you’ll have to save it for a later date. I’d like to speak with you privately. Do you think you can walk?”  
  
You nodded and stood, “Of course.”  
  
“Then come with me. We’re going upstairs.” He wrapped his arm around your shoulders and escorted you.  
  
After a couple flights of creaky old stairs, Remus brought you into an oddly grand room. He told you to sit on the bed as he pulled a chair over to face you. For a handful of minutes he studied you, which was an odd feeling considering he used to be your DADA professor. A small smile creeped across his face as he pulled a chocolate bar out of his sweater pocket and broke off a piece, holding it out towards you.  
  
“Eat. It’ll make you feel better.”  
  
You gratefully accepted the sweet and took a bite out of it, “I know you’ll have similar questions to them, so you might as well ask.”  
  
He nodded, “Well let’s start easy then. Are there more?”  
  
“Cuts?” Remus nodded in confirmation, so you continued, “Yes.” Without hesitation you turned your back to him and pulled off your shirt, knowing he’d want to see, “Plenty.” Cold fingers ghosted across your back, causing you to jump.  
  
“Sorry,” Remus apologized, “How did this happen?”  
  
“Well,” You took a deep breath, “No point in lying, right?”  
  
“None.”  
  
You nodded, “She’d come home drunk and she’d get a knife from the kitchen, then she’d come find me and wrestle me to the ground and carve whatever she wanted into my back. It came to a point where I didn’t fight her anymore; I just let it happen and it didn’t hurt anymore. Nerve damage I guess.” You pulled your shirt back on and turned around to face Remus, “And now you know.”  
  
“Oh, sweetheart.” He moved to sit next to you and pulled you into a hug, “Why didn’t you tell anyone?” He pulled away.  
  
You shrugged, “It wasn’t a big deal.”  
  
“This is a big deal, (Name). This is child abuse. Worse things could’ve happened. This time it was just an infection and a fever that will go away with it. Next time it could be life or death.”  
  
“Professor Lupin-”  
  
“You can call me Remus.”  
  
“Remus, I don’t want her to get in trouble. She’s my only family.”  
  
“You have us now. I’m not saying you have to cut contact with her, but we’d all prefer if you’d stay here with us. We can be your family, (Name). You don’t have to live somewhere where you’re going to be hurt on a regular basis, somewhere you may be risking your life.” You sat quietly, not sure how to respond to him and his offer, “I’ll leave you be for now. I want you to rest, lay down and try to sleep. That fever is going to be persistent. I’ll let the boys in as well.  
  
You nodded as Remus left the room and settled down onto the bed, although you felt no need to be under the covers. You shut your eyes for a couple of minutes, but it was long enough that you heard Fred and George enter with hushed voices as they thought you were asleep. A smile graced your lips when you heard them sit down beside the bed. What surprised you the most was when one hand gently moved hair from your face while another rested on your lower thigh, close to your knee.  
  
“You know I’m awake, right?” You asked, opening your eyes and giggling at their shocked expressions.  
  
“Well now we do,” George chuckled.  
  
“Darn and I was hoping to harvest your kidneys while you slept,” Fred added with a laugh.  
  
“Much appreciated, Fred.” You shot him a wink.  
  
“Enough joking. (Name), please don’t do that ever again. You gave us quite the fright,” George spoke sincerely.  
  
“Never again. I don’t know what we’d do if we lost you,” Fred sighed, “I don’t know what I’d do.”  
  
“Neither do I.”  
  
“Fred…George…? Am I really that important to you?” You ask, looking away from their gazes, thinking about what had happened.  
  
“Yes.”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
“oh…”, you whisper, “You guys know you’re my best friends right? But it feels like we’re more than friends, y’know? I’m not good with touchy feely things.”  
  
“We know exactly how you feel, (Name),” Fred confirmed.  
  
“And quite frankly, we think we love you, but we know for you to love both of us is irrational so we had agreed that neither of us would date you.” George nodded.  
  
“In light of recent events we thought we should tell you.”  
  
“…I think I might love you both. I just…I’m not sure what love feels like,” You sigh sadly, “I wish I could tell you for sure, but I can’t.”  
  
“That’s alright.” Fred smiled.  
  
“Take your time, figure it out,” George agreed, “And take a nap like Remus wanted.”  
  
You close your eyes again but you knew you weren’t going to be able to sleep, “Will you two lay with me?”  
  
“What?” They asked in unison.  
  
“Lay. With. Me. Simple English, you can do this,” You joked.  
  
George scoffed, “Yes we know that,”  
  
“You just caught us off guard is all.” Fred rolled his eyes.  
  
“Please?”  
  
Fred and George smiled before coming over to large bed and settling down next to you. With Fred on your left and George on your right you were able to calm yourself after two emotionally charged conversations. They emanated a lot of warmth between them, and it was great to have them to snuggle with. Finally feeling secure, and surrounded by what you thought might be love, you were able to fall asleep.  
  
Molly and Arthur had come to the room searching for their twin sons when they stumbled upon the scene. Sometime during your nap you had ended up with your head on Fred’s chest while George had his arms wrapped tightly around your waist. After an appropriate amount of admiring the cute sight in front of them, Molly pulled out a camera and took a picture. As it developed the three kids could be seen soundly asleep and breathing peacefully. She would be framing this one for sure.


End file.
